Instagram story viewer> @mark.lotinga> Posts

Mark Lotinga

@mark.lotinga

121

followers

200

following

Cars, movies, music, tech, real books, comics & coffee are just a few of the things l enjoy.
Daily swimmer / gymer.
South London then, Weybridge now.

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

Download All

After a nearly two-and-a-half-year wait we at last have season two of The Gentlemen.

It may or may not have been a “surprise” hit back in 2024, but as I have said before with regards to other shows, this kind of lag between seasons is unnecessary and unhelpful.

Nonetheless, having started with a re-watch of the last episode of season one, I have now finished season two.

And this feels like a different beast, certainly darker, and for a show that Netflix persists in classifying as a comedy this is definitely not a barrel of laughs.

Most of the humour is very, very dark, which is fine by me.

In fact I laughed long and loud at the end of the final episode.

Season two seamlessly moves us onwards and upwards (?) with The Duke and Susie hatching their own cunning plans whilst Bobby remains incarcerated.

As I mentioned in my previous review, casting is excellent and remains so with a handful of additions to this quality ensemble.

Hard to pick a duff move, plot twist or episode so I won’t even try.

As highlights go, I will pick out episode seven, which really allows Vinnie Jones to shine and for almost the ending alone episode eight really stands out.

I am enjoying seeing the various character arcs coupled with the ever-evolving relationships between our main players.

Personally, I liked the comparatively lighter touch of season one but am equally happy with the darker and more violent season two.

Season three was already commissioned before season two aired; let’s hope we see that next year and not 2028!

The Gentlemen remains highly recommended, roll on season three!

#TheGentlemen by @mark.lotinga

0

0

2 days ago

Having watched 1969’s Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid thinking it was a re-watch I am not now so certain that I have ever watched this film all the way through before, as certain sections rang no bells with me whatsoever.

In any case as this was recently on TV, I recorded it for later viewing in light of the classic status of the film.

It is described thus: “in 1890s Wyoming, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid lead a band of outlaws. When a train robbery goes wrong, they find themselves on the run with a posse hard on their heels.”

It is perhaps telling that despite the reputation of this film and despite the multiple Academy Award nominations, the film only had wins for best original screenplay, best cinematography, best original score and best original song.

It is also interesting that the film opens with the line: “most of what follows is true, I figure that “most” is doing a lot of heavy-lifting here.

And I am not about to disappear down some rabbit hole working out what is and isn’t “true”.

My truth is that I did not overly rate this film, beyond the screenplay which has some great lines, and of course the chemistry between Newman and Redford.

And sure, this is a Western, but is it a comedy too?

In my mind I am unable to accurately “place” this film, and at one hour 50 minutes it often feels slow, unnecessarily so in fact.

Having mentioned the chemistry between the stars, so good was it that just four years later Newman and Redford were again directed by George Roy Hill in 1973’s superb The Sting.

As an aside and in an almost real-life blast from the past, there's an amusing parallel here.

The featured train robbery originally saw too much dynamite being used, and the film followed suit, with Newman and Redford narrowly avoiding injury.

Art imitating life, or life imitating art?

On an estimated budget of $6M this made an astonishing $102M in the US and Canada alone, sadly no reliable worldwide figure exists.

As much as I like Newman and Redford and these are two bona fide movie stars I can only give this a modest recommendation, which feels like a shame.

#ButchCassidyAndTheSundanceKid by @mark.lotinga

0

0

6 days ago

I recently watched a retrospective video on YouTube about 1996’s From Dusk Till Dawn as it hit its 30th anniversary.

As it then dropped onto Netflix this seemed like too good an opportunity the pass up to watch a film that I have not watched in an age.

The film is described thus: “two criminals and their hostages unknowingly seek temporary refuge in a truck stop populated by vampires, with chaotic results.”

When a film is directed by Robert Rodriguez, with a screenplay by Quentin Tarantino and stars Harvey Keitel and George Clooney, you’re onto a winner, right?

The answer is a pretty solid yes from me.

Although it divides opinion I can deal with the “split” in the film commencing as it does as a near-traditional crime thriller to then become an ultra-violent B-moviesque horror romp.

Interestingly, this must have been one of the last occasions on which Clooney received second billing, here behind Keitel. Both are good, but for me, Clooney is the standout, in what, by today's standards, would seem an unusual role for him.

There is a languid element to Clooney’s portrayal of Seth Gecko which plays off well against Tarantino’s portrayal of his “oddball” brother Richard.

Also of note, great to see Danny Trejo in an early role, Fred Williamson as Frost, Cheech Marin in a trio of roles and of course special effects make-up legend and sometime actor Tom Savini as Sex Machine!

Coming in at one hour and 48 minutes the film never really lags as there is always something going on, and of course there are always plenty of zippy lines from Tarantino’s pen.

The violence and the gore, as cartoonish and as over-the-top as it is, are right up my street.

From an estimated budget of $19M, this went on to take $26M in the US and Canada, with a not entirely verifiable $59M as a worldwide gross.

In any case, the film was enough of a success to spawn two direct-to-video sequels in 1999 and a three season TV series in 2014-16.

For sure this will not be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you’re a fan of horror, crime, violence, vampires or even Tarantino himself, this is an easy recommendation.

Beyond all that, who’s up for drinks at the Titty Twister?!

#FromDuskTillDawn by @mark.lotinga

0

0

6 days ago

It would be fair to say that there is a lot going on in 2024’s Monkey Man, perhaps too much.

I watched this on the strength of an interesting review and a half-decent IMDb rating.

The film is described thus: “an anonymous young man unleashes a campaign of vengeance against the corrupt leaders who murdered his mother and continue to systematically victimize the poor and powerless.”

There are influences everywhere you look, from Bruce Lee, The Raid and Dredd to Korean revenge thrillers, John Wick, Bollywood and Hong Kong action cinema, all filtered through Hanuman mythology and Dev Patel's own Indian cultural background.

It is also quite some achievement that Patel not only stars in Monkey Man, but wrote the story and screenplay, co-produced and directed the film as well.

Basically, the success and credibility of this film rests on Dev’s shoulders.

By far the best and possibly only really consistently good aspect of this film is Dev, he performs his role as the “man with no name” with aplomb and very much looks the part, it also appears that he performs quite a lot of his own stunts and I always respect that.

Not such a great scene worth mentioning is the one where apparently the key to becoming a human weapon is to train alongside a group of transgender individuals (who are in hiding in a temple) accompanied by the incessant playing of a tabla, specifically a pair of Indian hand drums.

This is another of those films that suffers from pacing, at 121 minutes, it is too long, after a decent start the film lags before picking up in the frenetic and largely wordless last 30 minutes or so.

And it has to be said that the action and is violence is very creative.

One could almost watch the beginning, skip the “middle” and then watch the “rollercoaster” end.

I struggled to engage with the storyline which is at heart a simple one about revenge, but in an uneven offering at least I was “entertained” by the ending.

My sense is that Dev bit off a bit more than he could chew, nonetheless I credit him for his ambition.

On an estimated budget of $10M this took a decent $35M worldwide.

With caveats aside, this is a modest recommendation from me.

#MonkeyMan by @mark.lotinga

0

0

14 days ago

And there it is, the third and final season of Colin from Accounts.

Whilst I am saddened if not a little mystified as to why this series is being brought to an end, I guess they get to go out on a high.

The reason I say “mystified” is because a variety of plot threads are left well, hanging.

Nonetheless and straight off the bat, I am a fan of this show.

Having re-read my season one review from April 2023 and season two from September 2024, I was clearly slow to warm to the show, but my enthusiasm, support and appreciation of the series has grown over time.

Interestingly, my review of season two got a lot of traction, in fact it may be my most liked contribution ever, far more than my review of season one for example, my read into this is that it reflects the show’s increased popularity.

Clearly we have husband and wife creative team Patrick Brammall & Harriet Dyer to thank for all this.

Their onscreen chemistry is key to the show, I also read that and this may be a direct quote from Brammall: “if something humiliating happens to us, put it in the show”

Brammall and Dyer are not Gordon and Ashley except that certain elements of them are.

This show possesses what I believe is a key ingredient for success and that is heart, I have said it before with regard to other shows and films and will no doubt say it again in the future.

I have also mentioned before in passing the ensemble cast and they are without doubt exceptional, there are too many to mention but each plays a vital role in creating the whole.

Colin from Accounts is original, unpredictable, heart-warming, bittersweet, witty and occasionally very funny.

As a side note, during the final episode I do like how we effectively looped all the way back to the very beginning with Colin being unwell and the scenes that follow at the vet’s practice, a neat touch.

In closing, I must say that I do like how the show ends, in fact I immediately re-watched the last few minutes to allow those final scenes between Gordon and Ashley to really sink in.

Without doubt this is a show that I will watch again and of course it comes highly recommended from me.

#ColinFromAccounts by @mark.lotinga

0

0

15 days ago

Before watching 2023’s Robot Dreams I knew nothing of this film save for a strong written review and a higher-than-average IMDb rating of 7.6.

The film is described thus: “the adventures and misfortunes of Dog and Robot in New York City during the 1980s.”

First and foremost, this film has heart, and when a film has heart we’re already off to a good start.

Interestingly, this is a wordless animation that primarily explores friendship and loss in a genuinely emotional, charming and yet ultimately bittersweet way.

The hand-drawn 2D animation style really suits the characters and the subject matter, I would also commend the musical choices.

It has to be said that animation sometimes is the most profound style of storytelling.

And I also have to say that I was rooting for Dog and Robot right from the get-go!

My one negative is the pacing and the length of the movie, in my mind there is no way that what is effectively a very simple premise needs one hour and 43 minutes to do its job.

The film starts strongly and then meanders its way to a conclusion.

My feeling is that the film would be tighter/stronger at or around 90 minutes.

With that one negative out of the way, I did enjoy this, it is almost a palette cleanser style of film so pure are its intentions.

I also like that it does not go where you might want or expect it to go, beyond that I will say no more as it could spoil the ending.

Amongst a veritable plethora of award nominations, this was nominated for the 2024 Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, losing out to Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron.

Made for around €5M, Robot Dreams eventually grossed a surprisingly meagre return somewhere between $5M and $7M worldwide, depending on the box-office source.

This is a film that can be enjoyed by children of all ages, and if I had to guess, the intended moral of the story is that our friends and family come and go, but we should all be so lucky as to have a dog or indeed a robot in our lives at some point.

Highly recommended, but be patient with it.

#RobotDreams by @mark.lotinga

1

0

20 days ago

I re-watched 1971’s The French Connection for a variety of reasons.

Primary amongst those was that I had not watched this film in some considerable time and it stars two of my all-time favourite actors, namely Roy Scheider and especially Gene Hackman.

The film is described thus: “a pair of NYPD detectives in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a heroin smuggling ring based in Marseilles, but stopping them and capturing their leaders proves an elusive goal.”

The film is based on The French Connection: A True Account of Cops, Narcotics, and International Conspiracy, a 1969 non-fiction book by Robin Moore.

Over a taut one hour 44 minutes we are launched headlong into the lives and investigations of Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle and Buddy Russo as played by Hackman and Scheider respectively.

We are soon introduced to low-level hood Sal and his wife, middlemen for French narcotics trafficker Alain Charnier, played by Fernando Rey.

In an action-packed film it is of course the car/train chase that most catches the eye and delivers thrills aplenty.

From background reading it seems that “the car chase was filmed without obtaining the proper permits from the city!”

This film really kick-started the career of Director William Friedkin, with it winning five Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor for Hackman.

Interestingly there is almost a documentary feel to proceedings, it’s the kind of film that you can almost feel and taste, so gritty is it.

This was of course both a critical and financial success, on an estimated budget of just $1.8M this went on to make just shy of a spectacular $52M worldwide.

Although the ending clearly was designed to convey this as a one-and-done story, the sheer success of the film helped prompt a sequel which eventually surfaced in 1975.

It is worth mentioning that sequels were far less commonplace in the 1970s than they are today, particularly for a gritty, self-contained crime drama such as this.

I shall watch out for FCII as again I have not seen that in the longest time.

It almost goes without saying that The French Connection is highly recommended.

#TheFrenchConnection by @mark.lotinga

0

0

20 days ago

I have watched most of Netflix’s Untold sports documentaries and in the main enjoyed them.

However, I sense that we are reaching the end of the road for this imprint, as the quality and standards are definitely slipping.

I watched episodes four and seven of season six, these episodes were described thus:

The Shooting at Hawthorne Hill: “a look at the shocking act of violence and subsequent trial that transpired between a retired Olympic equestrian and the dressage student he took on at his farm in New Jersey.”

Although this episode is only 73 minutes long it drags, partly because I cared little for the characters involved.

Having been lured in by the headline premise, I soon came to learn that Lauren Kanarek, who was the person who got shot, was quite vile if not a trifle overly-obsessive.

In very basic terms this is an extreme case of “fuck around and find out”.

That Michael Barisone got off on an insanity plea is pretty extraordinary, however we have to respect the jury’s decision as they heard all the evidence.

Mr. T: I Pity the Fool: “before the gold chains, mohawk, and Hollywood fame of The A-Team and Rocky III, there was Laurence Tureaud. This is the extraordinary origin story behind one of the most unlikely and beloved icons in entertainment — Mr. T.”

At just 48 minutes the Mr T episode most assuredly does not outstay its welcome, thing is it was still very light on content.

And for that matter, what exactly beyond some wrestling as a youth and an appearance in Rocky III as boxer Clubber Lang, has Mr. T got to do with sport?

I would posit that the answer to that question is, nothing.

I don’t see a reason for this documentary to exist, it delivers next-to-nothing.

In conclusion, I would not recommend Hawthorne Hill and although I would not suggest avoiding Mr T, it falls some way short of being something I would recommend.

I am done with watching Untold simply because it is Untold. If a future episode genuinely interests me, I may give it a go, but I will no longer be lured in by a spicy headline and the promise of a fascinating story that ultimately fails to deliver.

#Untold
#TheShootingAtHawthorneHill
#MrTIPityTheFool by @mark.lotinga

0

0

23 days ago

I recorded and watched 1998’s Phantoms years ago, having rediscovered it recently and having not the faintest recollection of what it was about I decided to watch it again.

The film is described thus: “in the peaceful town of Snowfield, Colorado something evil has wiped out the community. And now, it's up to a group of people to stop it, or at least get out of Snowfield alive.”

Adapted for the screen by Dean R. Koontz from his novel of the same name, this was then directed by Joe Chappelle.

Before I get into it, I can’t help but think that the title does not suit this film nor perhaps did it suit the book, but as I have not read it I cannot be certain.

Back to the film, the headline premise is intriguing, which I guess is what drew me in in the first place and has now performed the same trick again.

Tidily coming in at a modest 96 minutes, it has a decent cast including a very young Ben Affleck as Sheriff Hammond, Liev Schreiber as Deputy Wargle, Rose McGowan as Lisa Pailey and of all people the legend that is Peter O’Toole as Dr. Flyte.

Whilst this film is no masterpiece I am quite baffled by its mediocre IMDb rating of just 5.5, I have seen plenty of films far worse than this with higher ratings, it’s plain odd.

Clearly “inspired” in some aspects by John Carpenter’s 1982 masterpiece The Thing, this does have its moments, although the CGI and effects are nowhere near in the same class.

I fear though, not enough moments to really grip nor shock audiences the world over.

And to ground that, on an estimated budget of $14M Phantoms opened to $3.1M in the US, but then promptly fell off a cliff, dropping 63% in its second weekend. It eventually scraped together just $5.6M as its entire theatrical gross — barely 40% of its production budget.

Despite a decent cast and a Dean Koontz source novel, it disappeared almost without trace, sliding neatly into the cinematic obscurity it now occupies.

Clearly there were hopes for this film to produce a sequel with the ending being as it is.

I would not encourage anyone to search this out but nor would I suggest avoiding it if it did present itself for a watch.

#Phantoms by @mark.lotinga

2

0

24 days ago

I watched 2023’s Hoard purely on the strength of an intriguing written review and a half-decent IMDb rating.

The film is described thus: “follows Maria - a teenager whose mother used to be a hoarder. Now (set in the 90s) she lives in a foster home where a previous resident Michael inspires her to revisit her childhood memories and passions that she has repressed.”

Written and directed by Luna Carmoon, sometime music video Director for Fontaines D.C. I get the impression that somebody fancies Luna to be the next big thing.

Apparently Carmoon has said that the film contains autobiographical elements, whilst I cannot pin down specifically what she alludes to, I guess in the main this comes from the write what you know camp.

This is the kind of art house affair that generally does not float my boat, movies that come from the angle of being “too clever by half” often don’t get an easy time from me.

And such is the case here.

I am not at all sure what this film is really “about” nor what it is trying to achieve, aside from the obvious around love, grief and indeed hoarding.

I also found the film to be long and slow, it just does not need to be two hours six minutes.

Grasping for positives, acting is good (I think) it’s hard to be certain given how odd the lead performances by Saura Lightfoot-Keon as Maria and Joseph Quinn as Michael are.

Supporting-wise I should mention that it’s great to see Cathy Tyson again, who I will always think well of from her role as Simone in the superb Mona Lisa from 1986.

I suspect that the ending is supposed to signify some form of closure or full turn of the circle following Maria eating her mother’s ashes and being (presumably) impregnated by Michael.

Having said that, I am by no means certain.

Although no budget was disclosed this took a meagre $88,000 at the box office worldwide.

I did not connect with this film and most assuredly did not “get it”, equally I cared very little for the unlikeable lead character(s).

I do not regret watching the film but I was not entertained nor would I recommend it.

An all-around odd affair, very much an acquired taste.

#Hoard by @mark.lotinga

1

0

a month ago

Break dancing aka breaking is not a sport ergo it should not be in the Olympics.

As someone who was a GamesMaker at the London 2012 Olympics and a big fan of many sports it is a travesty that breaking was included by the French for Paris 2024.

I have watched most of Netflix’s Untold sports documentaries and in the main they have been high quality and/or fascinating.

Raygun: Breaking Badly is neither of those things.

I am in two minds whether the production team of this puff piece are actually laughing at, with or towards Dr Gunn.

I did not warm to Rachael Gunn aka Raygun nor her husband Sammy Free aka Sammy Sex (yes really) aka her coach.

It seems we have Sammy to “thank” for Raygun’s existence as he inspired her, and let’s be frank Raygun and what we see of Sammy are both extremely “limited” in the breaking department, neither seeming to possess any discernible talent or rhythm.

Raygun is the David Brent of breaking.

As lovely as Gunn’s parents seem, this strikes me as a situation where Rachael just wasn’t told “no” enough and, like the two Australian B Girls featured, not enough people have actually told Gunn that she isn’t quirky, she’s actually just no good.

Raygun was regularly and repeatedly enabled by a number of sources.

This is enablement without critical scrutiny.

It is farcical that an unfit then 37-year-old woman was going up against the best B Girls from around the world, most of whom were it seems half her age.

The Australian Olympic authorities and the Head of AUSBreaking Lowe Napalan are in the dock here too, they have questions to answer.

Thankfully short at 72 minutes, this is easily the worst Untold documentary I have seen.

That Rachael Gunn thought that she could larp her way to just a point is a disgrace, that this documentary then got commissioned and she in her egotistical delusion agreed to do it just compounds the issue.

As Gunn herself said “fake it til you make it”, well, she sure is still faking it.

After all those people enabled the situation, Netflix gives us almost no serious examination of why nobody said “no” or “stop”.

And thankfully there will be no breaking at the next Olympics.

Avoid.

#RaygunBreakingBadly by @mark.lotinga

0

0

a month ago

I have always been a big fan of Hammer films, so when 1971’s Dr Jekyll and Sister Hyde turned up on @TalkingPicsTV, yesterday I was there for it.

The film is described thus: “a Victorian scientist tests a serum that transforms him into a lascivious murderess.”

What we have here is one of the better examples of the latter stages of Hammer’s output.

This cleverly combines Jekyll with not just a gender swap but also elements of Jack the Ripper, whilst relocating Burke and Hare from Edinburgh for good measure.

Casting Ralph Bates as Jekyll and Martine Beswick as Hyde was inspired, as with the simple addition of a beauty spot, the two do bear a resemblance.

Aside from the leads we have solid support from a cast of actors not normally associated with Hammer, Gerald Sim in particular as Professor Robertson being especially worthy of mention.

Directed by Hammer stalwart Roy Ward Baker, this was written by Brian Clemens and as outlined previously he did a good job of weaving various themes and characters together within this Whitechapel setting.

Not that the film has much in the way of effects, but I should mention how clever simple ‘tricks’ like having the two actors’ hands appearing from different sleeves of the same dressing gown to convey the ongoing changes were.

It is interesting that as the story progresses we go from Jekyll and Hyde seeming to have no knowledge of what the “other” is doing to the point where they are fighting for supremacy.

It is a long time since I watched this and I was pleasantly surprised how well this still stacks up some 55 years after initial production.

Made on Hammer's typically modest budget of around $500,000, and whilst no reliable box office figures exist it wasn’t regarded as a significant financial success.

Its UK performance was hampered by the declining cinema market and Hammer effectively competing with itself (for example this was released as a double bill with Blood From the Mummy’s Tomb) with several other horror releases.

All if not most Hammer fans will already have seen this but even to the more casual viewer I would recommend this as it represents more than the “usual” Hammer fare.

#DrJekyllAndSisterHyde by @mark.lotinga

0

0

a month ago